An Australian man kidnapped and held hostage by Muslim militants in the Southern Philippines for 472 days has shed more light on his ordeal, telling of his brushes with death and the methods he used to stop himself going insane.

Warren Rodwell, a former soldier and English teacher from Sydney, was seized from his home on the island of Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, in December 2011.

Fifteen months after his release, he says his captors initially nearly killed him through incompetence.

He says he was shot through the index finger during his capture and nearly drowned at sea whilst being taken to his first destination.

"After we got out to sea for an hour, the boat exploded. The motors caught on fire and that's when I could see the errors being made," Mr Rodwell said.